Improve Your Writing

I can show you how to win with words.

Even if you currently write in baboon and speak in grunts.

And I can do it in minutes, not months.

Just reference these 10 tips when you’re drafting your next blog post (you do have a blog right?):

1. Rewriting is the essence of writing.​ (Cue ​Zoolander joke.)

The magic happens through editing, not from flawless first drafts.

2. Good writing is lean; bad writing is bloated.​

If you can say something just as clear with fewer pages, paragraphs, sentences or words? Do it.

Writing improves in direct proportion to the number of things you keep out of it that shouldn’t be there.

3. Show up, shuddup and write.

You learn to write well by — wait for it — writing. Peck the keyboard daily for best results.

4. Me, me, me. Readers want to know, as soon as possible, what’s in it for them.

5. Verbs are the motor to your sentences.​

The stronger and more precise your verbs, the more horsepower you gain.

Example: “He ran away” versus “He darted for the nearest door.”

6. Write like you talk.​ Contractions are key.

Use “I’ll” and “you’re” and “can’t” and so on, instead of writing like a robot.

I use slang and shorten words like “probably” into “prob’ly” for even more fluidity.

Read your blog posts out loud. If they sound stiff, loosen ’em up.

7. Writing is visual.​ It catches the eye before the brain.

So format, format, format.

Use mostly short sentences (but vary the sentence length for rhythm).

And with long copy blog posts, especially, make a new paragraph after 1-4 lines so it doesn’t look like work to read.

8. When they zig, you zag. Basically: don’t write like a “marketer.” Avoid cliches.

If a word or phrase comes to you too easily? Be suspicious. Then change it to something more original.

9. Use more senses.​ Any average writer can describe how something looks. But how does it sound? Smell? Taste? Feel?

I once wrote in a blog post that a certain movie made me feel like running naked through a corn field, backwards at night.

Compare that to “It was confusing.” (See what I’m sayin’?)

10. U B U.​ Your natural writing voice is your greatest asset.

Don’t change who you are. Nobody’s ever seen the world from your perspective.

You’ve got a unique set of beliefs, fears, hopes, dreams and context that make you ​you. “Raise the realness,” as I say.

To see these in play, read my blog posts.

(And get even more blogging tips, you overachiever you.)

Peace,

Kevin